For many of the followers of Jesus, he was a great teacher. His major theme as a teacher was the Kingdom of God. He taught the values of this Kingdom and showed how they frequently differed greatly from the values of this world. In doing this he affirmed the teaching of the Old Testament. He taught people to value eternal realities over temporal concerns, to depend prayerfully on God, to be discerning and to consider humbly the needs of others. Jesus did some teaching in the classic style, presenting argued propositions of truth, but most of his teaching was not like that. He knew the power of story, and used stories to present what he wanted to say in ways which were memorable and which frequently caught the listener’s off-guard with surprising punch lines. Jesus did not just teach he healed people of a wide variety of sickness. In the four Gospels there are over twenty stories of healings, some of individuals and some of groups. He helped the blind to see again, the deaf to hear again, the lame walk again and cured many diseases that made many people outcast by society.
Jesus invested a great deal in his disciples and commanded them to continue his teaching. As they did so, they focused much of their teaching on the implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection, calling their hearers to repent, be baptized and become his followers. Not only did the disciples continue to preach and teach, but, as Jesus had predicted they also carried out miraculous acts of healing. For example, in the name of Jesus, Peter and John healed a beggar who had been lame from birth and some people were healed of diseases and demon oppression simply by touching a cloth that the apostle Paul had touched. As more and more people came to be followers of Jesus, the movement outgrew its Jewish roots and welcomed non-Jews into the fold. This combined with the sheer scale and geographical spread of those who now called themselves ‘Christians’ led to various complications and disputes.
"No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshipped; no other man has been so devoutly loved." --John Knox Timeline: 3/4/5 – Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judea. According to the Gospels he was miraculously conceived by Mary through God, without any human father. 10 – According to the Gospels, at age 12 Jesus made a visit with his parents to Jerusalem during the feast of the Passover. St. Luke tells us how suddenly he disappeared and eventually his parents found him in the Temple where, to their great astonishment he was holding a serious conversation with learned men that were astonished by his wisdom. 31 – Jesus must have been around 30 years old when he met a man called John the Baptist, who had started a religious movement preparing for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordan. After his Baptism he took part in John’s religious movement and became convinced that it was himself whom God intended to be the Messiah. 32 – During the first part of his ministry Jesus made tours from his base at Capernaum in Galilee to the neighbouring towns and villages, proving the authority of his mission by performing miraculous deeds. The Gospels describe various miracles, such as raising the dead, casting out devils, healing the sick, calming the waves and winds by command, and other wonderful deeds. 33 – Jesus had chosen a little group of 12 disciples, or followers called apostles to help him in his work. He began to give them special teaching and shared with them some of his own deepest religious experiences so that they could understand fully who he was. 35 – Jesus left Galilee and returned to Jerusalem. Soon, he realized that his teachings had aroused opposition. Worse still, he knew that one of his own disciples was turning against him. Jesus knew that the danger was great, and he must prepare for the end. He gathered his 12 disciples together for a final meal, Known as the Last Supper, and explained to them that his death was necessary because it would establish a new covenant between God and man, and it would be the disciples' duty to spread Jesus' teachings after he had gone. He took bread and wine, blessed it and gave it to his disciples saying, "This is my body...this is my blood". Christians remember this when they celebrate Holy Communion. 35 (next day) – After the meal, Jesus and the disciples went to Mount of Olives, a hill on the east side of Jerusalem. That is the place where Judas brought man to arrest Jesus. They took him to the Jewish leaders for trial. The High Priest asked Jesus, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, and Jesus replied, "I am". Consequently, he was sentenced to death. The sentence the Jewish leaders had passed could not be carried out until it had been approved by the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Pilate was uncertain what to do and after consulting the crowd he gave in and sentenced Jesus to be crucified (this was the Roman method of executing criminals by nailing them to a cross). He was then crucified and died. That evening (Friday) the dead body of Jesus was taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb, and a great stone was rolled across the entrance of the tomb. Early on the Sunday morning, Easter Sunday, a group of women disciples went to the tomb and found the stone rolled back and the body gone. Soon after this discovery Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and to the disciples, and the news quickly spread that Jesus returned from the dead. Jesus' resurrection is a matter of great importance for Christians, for the Christian faith is based on the resurrection of Christ.
Born: 3/4/5 B.C.
Died: 35/36/37/39 B.C
Religious leader.
For many of the followers of Jesus, he was a great teacher. His major theme as a teacher was the Kingdom of God. He taught the values of this Kingdom and showed how they frequently differed greatly from the values of this world. In doing this he affirmed the teaching of the Old Testament. He taught people to value eternal realities over temporal concerns, to depend prayerfully on God, to be discerning and to consider humbly the needs of others.
Jesus did some teaching in the classic style, presenting argued propositions of truth, but most of his teaching was not like that. He knew the power of story, and used stories to present what he wanted to say in ways which were memorable and which frequently caught the listener’s off-guard with surprising punch lines.
Jesus did not just teach he healed people of a wide variety of sickness. In the four Gospels there are over twenty stories of healings, some of individuals and some of groups. He helped the blind to see again, the deaf to hear again, the lame walk again and cured many diseases that made many people outcast by society.
Jesus invested a great deal in his disciples and commanded them to continue his teaching. As they did so, they focused much of their teaching on the implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection, calling their hearers to repent, be baptized and become his followers. Not only did the disciples continue to preach and teach, but, as Jesus had predicted they also carried out miraculous acts of healing. For example, in the name of Jesus, Peter and John healed a beggar who had been lame from birth and some people were healed of diseases and demon oppression simply by touching a cloth that the apostle Paul had touched.
As more and more people came to be followers of Jesus, the movement outgrew its Jewish roots and welcomed non-Jews into the fold. This combined with the sheer scale and geographical spread of those who now called themselves ‘Christians’ led to various complications and disputes.
"No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshipped; no other man has been so devoutly loved." --John Knox
Timeline:
3/4/5 – Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judea. According to the Gospels he was miraculously conceived by Mary through God, without any human father.
10 – According to the Gospels, at age 12 Jesus made a visit with his parents to Jerusalem during the feast of the Passover. St. Luke tells us how suddenly he disappeared and eventually his parents found him in the Temple where, to their great astonishment he was holding a serious conversation with learned men that were astonished by his wisdom.
31 – Jesus must have been around 30 years old when he met a man called John the Baptist, who had started a religious movement preparing for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordan. After his Baptism he took part in John’s religious movement and became convinced that it was himself whom God intended to be the Messiah.
32 – During the first part of his ministry Jesus made tours from his base at Capernaum in Galilee to the neighbouring towns and villages, proving the authority of his mission by performing miraculous deeds. The Gospels describe various miracles, such as raising the dead, casting out devils, healing the sick, calming the waves and winds by command, and other wonderful deeds.
33 – Jesus had chosen a little group of 12 disciples, or followers called apostles to help him in his work. He began to give them special teaching and shared with them some of his own deepest religious experiences so that they could understand fully who he was.
35 – Jesus left Galilee and returned to Jerusalem. Soon, he realized that his teachings had aroused opposition. Worse still, he knew that one of his own disciples was turning against him. Jesus knew that the danger was great, and he must prepare for the end. He gathered his 12 disciples together for a final meal, Known as the Last Supper, and explained to them that his death was necessary because it would establish a new covenant between God and man, and it would be the disciples' duty to spread Jesus' teachings after he had gone. He took bread and wine, blessed it and gave it to his disciples saying, "This is my body...this is my blood". Christians remember this when they celebrate Holy Communion.
35 (next day) – After the meal, Jesus and the disciples went to Mount of Olives, a hill on the east side of Jerusalem. That is the place where Judas brought man to arrest Jesus. They took him to the Jewish leaders for trial. The High Priest asked Jesus, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, and Jesus replied, "I am". Consequently, he was sentenced to death. The sentence the Jewish leaders had passed could not be carried out until it had been approved by the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Pilate was uncertain what to do and after consulting the crowd he gave in and sentenced Jesus to be crucified (this was the Roman method of executing criminals by nailing them to a cross).
He was then crucified and died.
That evening (Friday) the dead body of Jesus was taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb, and a great stone was rolled across the entrance of the tomb. Early on the Sunday morning, Easter Sunday, a group of women disciples went to the tomb and found the stone rolled back and the body gone. Soon after this discovery Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and to the disciples, and the news quickly spread that Jesus returned from the dead. Jesus' resurrection is a matter of great importance for Christians, for the Christian faith is based on the resurrection of Christ.